I promise we are alive! It has been a crazy two months since I updated last. Sorry sweet baby #3!
Since my last update:
* we survived another Rhea Lana season! The Lord continues to sustain and provide and we keep marching forward trying to build this business. This was my smoothest and best event to date--all the praise hands! They told me when we initially bought the franchise that it would take (at minimum) 2 years before you feel like you start to turn the corner and they were exactly right. We were THRILLED to have met that first milestone in working/owning a small business! It takes 3-5 years (with any small business) before you start becoming "successful" and we feel like we are on track with that timeline. We continue to be thankful for this company, the women I get to work with, and the opportunity to minister and serve other mamas as we are all on this journey called motherhood. We are also thankful for our INCREDIBLE support system that help make my events possible--my in-laws (and usually several friends and our church family) lovingly and graciously help my husband hold down the fort at home and take care of the kids while my parents drive all the way over and help me run the event (my Mom usually stays with me the entire 2 weeks). We know there is no way we could make this work without their help! We are excited for what's to come with the future of this business!
* when I got back home from Rhea Lana, Holt went on his first field trip! They went on Thursday so Daniel and I both got to go and experience the Wild Things Farm pumpkin patch with him and it was a blast!
*the kids and I took one last trip to Conway before baby comes. During my RL event, my sweet, precious Leadership Team surprised me with a baby shower and my mom gave me a prenatal massage as a gift--the trick being I had to go to Conway. Hallelujah! We drove down, I had my massage and we got to spend some quality time with my grandparents too before driving back home. From this point on, I'll be staying pretty close to home so I'm thankful we had the opportunity to go!
*Holt finished his soccer season playing with the green team
* we had our annual Fall Festival with our church on Halloween night. As usual it was chaotic and full of chili and hot dogs and way too much candy! Next year we will have another little Lowery with us to celebrate!
* this past weekend (as in yesterday), my parents took Holt and Evie to the Razorback game in Fayetteville and Daniel and I spent the day painting the nursery. The room has basically been white since we moved into this house 2.5 years ago and that was my one big project I wanted to complete before baby comes. We chose Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams as the paint color and I LOVE it! It's more of a light blue color with some green and gray undertones, depending on the light in the room. Perfect gender neutral color! All that's left is re-painting the trim and then decorating and getting it ready for sweet baby #3---we better hurry since we basically have about 2 months before he or she gets here!
Starting this week, I have doctor's appointments every 2 weeks which is exciting! We are in the home stretch and when I think about all the fun things we have going on over the next two months I know it's going to go so fast! I plan to decorate for Christmas soon so I don't have to stress over it and we can just enjoy the Holidays. My last appointment a couple of weeks ago I had another ultrasound to check on a couple things they couldn't see well at our anatomy scan. Everything checked out great!
This baby is seemingly much more chill and doesn't seem to move as often as my others. I'm hoping that means he or she will be really laid back and "go-with-the-flow"! Holt moved CONSTANTLY and still does outside the womb; Evie had specific patterns where she would be active for a bit and then slow down which is the same for her too. This one, I sometimes have to go lay down and count kicks just to be sure everything is ok. Although, usually at night it seems to wake up every so often and ROLL everywhere, which kind of tickles (I have an anterior placenta this time so I have quite a bit of cushion). We are so excited and getting anxious to meet this little one--and find out whether we are adding a sweet boy or girl to our family!
How far along: 31 weeks
Sleep: Still sleeping relatively well. I wake up every so often and have to switch to my other side but all in all I can't complain
Aches/Pains: My lower back--particularly my right SI joint--has been giving me issues the last several weeks. I am seeing a chiropractor this pregnancy which has helped tremendously and my husband has been helping massage it. I'm also trying to stretch more but goodness!
Food aversions: none really but more often than not, food just doesn't sound good and I have to make myself eat
Food cravings: Would you believe I'm drinking coffee?? CRAZY. I don't know if it's the cold weather or what, but I'm WANTING coffee. So strange because I didn't want it at all with my other two. I also go back and forth between craving salty foods and sweet foods--anything from sandwiches and mac-n-cheese to brownies and donuts. Not helping me figure out whether this baby is a boy or girl!
Gender prediction: I can honestly say I don't have a clue--100%. I'll admit, I was a bit prideful before getting pregnant. I mean, I've already had one boy and one girl and those pregnancies were vastly different so I just KNEW I would know, even though we weren't officially finding out the gender. But this baby has kept me on my toes! I have had things happen from BOTH my other pregnancies so it is totally throwing me off--which I secretly love because I truly love surprises and I think this will be one of the best ones I ever have! Not much longer and we will find out!
